What happened to this duck's wings?

[Romeacresfarm1]

I never noticed anything when they were hatchlings and it wasn't until about a month ago that I see this duck's wings spread out. I am thinking that it was a growth spurt but it never changed.

 

[dotknott]

Angel wing. What's your feed protein %?

 

[Romeacresfarm1]

Well let's see, they get a mix of cracked corn, whole corn, 20% crumble, 24% gamebird, oats, , sunflower seeds with a little bread mixed in for a treat plus they are free rangers. Too high protein? This is the first I have ever seen it out of hundreds of ducks but this bunch happened to finish in an incubator when we were fighting a predator problem and the ducks ended up abandoning their nests and flew back in the high fence for protection.

 

[dotknott]

Protein is the usual culprit on angel wing. Step 1 is cut down the protein. Step 2 wrap the wing if it's not too late.

I've never had to treat it myself, hopefully some of these folks can help.

@Amiga
@Miss Lydia

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Like @dotknott said, angel wing can be caused by too much protein; I had one drake that started showing signs at about 8 weeks, but after a week of being wrapped in elastic bandaging (Vetrap), the problem corrected. I start my ducklings on 21% protein feed from hatching and cut the protein to 16% at 2 weeks by adding rolled oats and haven't had angel wing appear since.

This thread has a tutorial for wrapping the wing: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/644239/angel-wing-in-ducks-how-we-wrap-to-mend-it-pictorial. It's most easily corrected when caught early, but you could still try.

 

[Amiga]

We have not had to deal with angel wing here, I think that link from FoodFreedomNow covers it pretty well, and I cannot recall if Miss Lydia has had to deal with it.

For domestic ducks I think it's mostly an appearance situation.

And just for the record, not to argue, but there are some reports that it's not just protein that causes angel wing . . . I have not done an exhaustive study of it . . . plenty of people experienced with ducks caution against too much protein. Plenty of them don't think it matters....

 

[dotknott]

Thanks @Amiga, for some reason I thought this was something you'd dealt with.

I hadn't heard anything other than protein being at fault.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

The other suspected cause that I've heard of is genetics - but my experience leads me to lean towards protein being the culprit.

 

[Amiga]

Yes, I have also read that genetics plays a part - - - I think it may be that some evidence points towards genetics being more influential, other evidence points toward diet being more influential.

I will say that there is a science called epigenetics, and if I understand correctly, it looks like while we may have genes for certain characteristics, our lifestyle - diet, exercise, and even thought patterns - turn the genes on or off. Fascinating.

And still we need to wrap for angel wing.

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Yes, I have also read that genetics plays a part - - - I think it may be that some evidence points towards genetics being more influential, other evidence points toward diet being more influential.

I will say that there is a science called epigenetics, and if I understand correctly, it looks like while we may have genes for certain characteristics, our lifestyle - diet, exercise, and even thought patterns - turn the genes on or off.  Fascinating.

And still we need to wrap for angel wing.

Right - I think we may oversimplify in an effort to identify the cause (a single cause is certainly easier to understand and deal with). In reality, the cause could definitely be synergistic or multifactorial.